Pope hinted at resignation three years ago

Monday

Feb 11, 2013 at 5:06 PM

Stunning as it is, the NEWS this morning that Pope Benedict XVI will step down later this month fullfills speculation that he fueled himself with a passage in his 2010 book “Light of the World,” in which he wrote that if a pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church considered himself “no longer physically, psychologically, and spiritually capable of carrying out the duties of his office,” he would have “the right, and in some circumstances the obligation, to resign.”

Benedict’s resignation also is proper grist for this blog’s mill, in that the Vatican has considerable political influence around the world, including ...

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Pat Cunningham

Stunning as it is, the NEWS this morning that Pope Benedict XVI will step down later this month fullfills speculation that he fueled himself with a passage in his 2010 book “Light of the World,” in which he wrote that if a pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church considered himself “no longer physically, psychologically, and spiritually capable of carrying out the duties of his office,” he would have “the right, and in some circumstances the obligation, to resign.”

Benedict’s resignation also is proper grist for this blog’s mill, in that the Vatican has considerable political influence around the world, including ...